New World, New Heroes
by Thunderboom5
Summary: A simple road trip between two friends takes a dark turn when they end up in a new world filled with super-beings they know nothing about that is constantly under siege from cosmic-level threats. And after acquiring powers of their own shortly after their arrival, they will have to join the ranks of the world's defenders if they hope to make a new life for themselves. (MCU SI AU)
1. Prologue

On the Road…

"Dude, can you turn that crap off please?"

John Malcolm Booth rolled his eyes and smirked before picking up his phone and selecting the Spotify app. He scrolled through his custom list until he reached the song currently playing. His thumb brushed over the pause key…and then moved to hit "play" on the next track below it.

"~I threw a wish in the well, don't ask me I'll never tell…~"

"NO!"

Booth laughed as his friend Adam thrusted his finger toward the volume dial and pressed it, cutting the song off right at the chorus. His brown-haired, buzzed head friend then collapsed back into his seat and began rummaging through his backpack. They'd been on the road now for almost three days out of their week-long spring break road trip. Once they got caught up on their studies at the University of Michigan they were off, and were now cruising along a freeway in the Texan outback on their way to Houston.

"That steak dinner cannot come any sooner," Adam murmured.

"Dude," Booth deadpanned. "We just ate five minutes ago, literally. Like, we just left town Five. Minutes. Ago. It's only 1:23 in the afternoon; we have three hours until we get there. Until then, enjoy the cacti."

"Brah, it is like 183 degrees out here. I am sweating off everything I just ate."

"Just go back to reading Superman, Adam."

"Supes could get us there in three seconds flat," he grumbled.

"Cause you know, all those superheroes are way overpowered and their abilities are ridiculously over the top anyway," Booth retorted. "I'll just stick with The Walking Dead where everyone is normal…but with zombies."

"Well what about Harry Potter and Eragon? Their powers are over the top."

"That's magic; there's a difference," Booth said defensively. "Why don't you read something where the superheroes aren't in god-mode all the time?"

"Cause there's nothing else dude," Adam answered as he held up the comic in between them. "DC is the only publisher of superhero comics in the world. Other people have tried to start their own companies throughout the years but they never really got off the ground. The closest anyone got was a guy named Lee or something who almost started up his own company in the 60's, but he died of cancer before it was finalized and the money he was saving went to his family instead."

"Eh," Booth shrugged. "Walking Dead and Archie is all I need."

"Whatever, man."

From there they drove on in silence, but within thirty minutes Adam decided that he needed some shut eye and so leaned his seat back to take a little nap while Booth focused on the road. An hour after that though, Booth felt a change in the air; his ears popped and static electricity danced across his skin, making his hairs stand on end. And finally, the boom of a thunderclap jolted him out of his seat and caused him to grip the steering wheel white-knuckle tight.

"Um, Adam?"

It had been clear skies mere moments ago, but now the sky was near black with thick storm clouds that billowed across the sky as far as they eye could see. Lightning strikes bombarded the landscape for miles it seemed.

"Adam?"

But despite the sudden change in weather conditions, his friend was practically comatose in his seat. So, he opted for slapping him repeatedly on the shoulder with varying degrees of force to coax him awake.

"ADAM!"

Adam then shot up, his eyes wide in panicked confusion, his head swiveling this way and that.

"W-what," he stammered. "What gives man?"

"Look out the window and tell me what you think gives!" Booth shouted. "Three guesses as to why, and the first two don't count!"

Adam obeyed and gazed out the passenger side window in both awe and terror. "Whoah! What the-?"

KRAKOOM

A lightning bolt suddenly slammed into the ground a few feet ahead of the truck, the heat melting the two front tires and causing it to flip forward. The two friends landed hard on the roof of the cap, but they were still buckled in, albeit hanging upside down now. Their heads were swimming, but Booth tried his best to retain consciousness and get ahold of the situation.

"Adam, g-get outta the…" He said in a daze.

KRAKOOM

It was at that moment another bolts ripped through the cab of the truck, filling it with a blinding white light and blistering heat. But before they could cry out in fear and pain, everything went dead silent and their vision dropped to utter blackness.


	2. Prologue Part 2 - Booth

The first thing Booth noticed was the noise. It wasn't thunder, or even the explosions from the lightning hitting the ground. There was a slight rushing sound; distant but still prominent.

"So help me," he muttered, his eyes still closed; face pressed against the ground, "if I open my eyes and I'm in Oz, I'm staying here and going back to sleep."

Pavement. Very dirty pavement.

"Gross!"

Booth shot up, causing his head to spin. He fell against one of the walls to his left.

"Okay Booth calm down." After his vision returned, he realized he was leaning against a brick wall.

"This...this can't be right...I was...I..." He had a flash of memory to the freak lightning storm and...

"Adam!" Booth lurched forward, causing another wave of lightheadedness with some added nausea. "I have to...where?"

Booth slowly hobbled his way between the buildings until he finally walked out into a busy street surrounded by buildings and filled with people. Definitely not the desert. Yet still somehow familiar. He'd been here recently. Very recently.

"Where...where the heck am I?" Booth wandered onto the sidewalk, trying to find a sign telling him where he was.

A few large blocks and the full ability to walk later, he couldn't find any information that helped. Instead, he resorted to trying to flag down people.

"Excuse me...hey...a little...okay this isn't working." Booth scanned the street until he found the one person that might help him. "Excuse me, officer?"

"Yes? There something you need?" the officer responded.

"Yeah I'm...visiting and I seem to have lost my way. Can you tell me where I am?"

"Well currently you are in Greenwich Village..."

"Wait..." Booth interrupted, finally seeing the NYPD logo on the officer's uniform. _Greenwich...New York City?! "_ Thanks...that does explain a lot actually."

"Did you need help finding anything?"

"No I'm good now. I just took...a really wrong turn. Thanks though."

Booth continued on down the street, his mind racing. How could he be in New York City? He and Adam had left there early on in their spring break but how could he have come back? What happened to Texas?

Is this what being dead is? The lightning strike, his truck flipping. All of these could have easily killed them. If not though, this was a very vivid dream. Booth pinched himself hard in case it was. No avail however. He was still in a very crowded New York City.

Lost in thought with a gaining headache, Booth almost missed the strange robed man. He blinked a few times, thinking it was a mirage or other lightning induced hallucination. With all the other strange things, it might have been normal had the robed figure not just walked into a strange, out of place building.

Amongst the taller, more modern buildings, there was a shorter, ancient looking building. It had a domed roof in the center with four - towers? - at each corner. A large window with a strange arching symbol sat in the center of the dome facing he street.

"Woah," Booth said aloud. "Must be a DCCon going on. They picked the perfect building for it."

Booth found himself drawn to the building. He couldn't avert his eyes and before he even realized what happened, he'd put his hand on the door and pushed it open.

The lobby was simple enough. There was a staircase leading to an upper level and many more doors on the first floor. Oddly enough, it almost seemed like it was too big of a lobby for the size of the outside of the building.

"Picked a heck of a place for this," Booth muttered. "I wonder how they ev..."

Suddenly, Booth felt a change in the air. He heard a soft woosh before he was suddenly slammed against the wall behind him. A gasp escaped his lungs from the impact and he then realized no one was holding him there. He struggled against his invisible restraints.

"Who are you?" The voice rang out, loud and clear. Booth stopped struggling and focused in on the new arrival.

The man walking down the stairs was dark skinned and bald. He wore a tan, sleeveless robe and was holding his arms up, pointing them right at Booth.

Booth felt a cold chill go down his spine. It was Robed Guy. He was somehow holding Booth against the wall.

 _How?_ Booth thought. _What is going on here? I have to be dreaming! This is all some weird hallucination in my crashed truck and I'm either dying or dreaming._

"This place is hidden from the eyes of the common man," Robed Guy continued, ripping Booth from his thoughts. "You couldn't have just wandered in here. So I'll ask again. Who. Are you?"

"Booth!" Booth said, the fear in his voice almost palpable. "My name's Malcolm Booth and I did just wander in here. I saw you walking over and I guess I just auto piloted myself in here. Almost like..."

"The Sanctum called to you," Robed Guy finished.

"Sanctum?"

"This is the Sanctum Sanctorum. At least the New York one." Robed Guy lowered his arms and Booth felt himself lowering with them. The invisible restraints lifted and he could move freely again.

"Cool name. Bit cultish sounding."

"It is a little I guess." Robed Guy smirked a little, giving Booth a little hope that the guy wasn't going to kill him with his mind.

"So what exactly _is_ a Sanctum Sanc...torum?"

"Yes the Sanctum for short. It stands as a guard for us sorcerers."

 _Sorcerers,_ Booth thought. _Why not. I was talking about magic before I died so why not._

 _"_ My name is Daniel Drumm," Robed Guy continued. "I'm the head of the New York Sanctum. If you were called..."

Daniel got quiet and stared at Booth for an uncomfortable amount of time. Almost like he was staring into Booth's soul, trying to find unsaid truths.

"I'm afraid I cannot help you, Malcolm. I have no reason for why you are here, but I may know someone who can. Follow me." Without another word, he walked up the stairs and disappeared.

"What? Wait!" Booth quickly ran after him.

Daniel led Booth deep into the building. Booth tried to keep up with all the twists and turns, but the building was impossibly bigger on the inside. It was almost like he was transported into an episode of Doctor Who. Only there was magic...

After what seemed like forever of walking and a headache of an architecture plan, they arrived at a small round room that only had three huge windows. The weird part was each window showed a different view. One was a jungle, one was a swamp, and the last one was a desert.

"What on earth?" Booth said, staring at the windows. This couldn't be possible, could it? "Okay this isn't...I can't be...what is going on here!"

"I know you're scared Malcolm," Daniel started to say.

"No. A, It's Booth, not Malcolm. B, don't try to pull that comforting, 'I stared into your soul and now know everything about you so I can say just the right thing crap' on me. I don't know what's happening around here but I should be driving my truck around in Texas right now with Adam, who I don't even know how to find right now!" Booth took a step back from the windows, trying not to just scream at the top of his lungs out of frustration, fear, or a combination of them both.

"Booth," Daniel said, again in a soothing voice. "You are distressed and scared, and I only wish to help. Trust me. I can take you to the Ancient One. She can help you figure out whatever it is that brought you to us. The Sanctum doesn't just call out to anyone. It chose you for a reason."

"The Ancient who now? And what if I don't even want to go?"

"The Ancient One is a wise master of the mystic arts. She is the Sorcerer Supreme. The answers you seek may lie with her, if only you'll trust me."

Booth stared at the windows, purposely not looking at Daniel. Could he figure this out? Is this "Ancient One" the person who could solve whatever happened? Could she help him find Adam?

"How do I find the Ancient One?" Booth asked, still refusing to avert his gaze from the windows.

"The place you seek is Kamar-Taj. These windows are a transport between different places."

"Like a portal?"

"Precisely. I can shift one of the locations to Kamar-Taj, where you can find the Ancient One. She can help."

Booth took a deep breath. "Okay. Send me to Kamar-Taj."

Daniel walked up to the middle window and waved his hand in front of it. The image shifted to show a bustling street surrounded by smaller buildings, seemingly of an Asian design. One building in particular seemed to draw Booth's eye.

"That one there," he said, pointing to the building. "That's the entrance to Kamar-Taj?"

"Yes," Daniel answered. He waved his hand again and the glass dissolved from the window. "Simply walk through and head into that building. There you can meet the Ancient One. Good look Booth."

"Thank you for all your help." Booth looked Daniel in the eyes and saw a flash of compassion and concern before it disappeared and was replaced by an overwhelming curiosity.

Booth took another deep breath and took a few hesitant steps towards the middle window.

 _Okay Ancient One and Kamar-Taj,_ Booth thought. _I need answers and you are going to give them to me._

After another brief second of standing in front the window, Booth stepped forward into the unknown future.


	3. Prologue Part 2 - Adam

The first thing Adam registered as his senses returned to him was the feeling of something cold and wet tapping him on the face several times in different places. After a few seconds, though, he felt as though someone was dousing him with a water hose, and the sudden onslaught of cold caused him to open his eyes with a loud gasp.

"What the heck?!"

He sprung up into a sitting position and swiveled his head around to find out where he was. The last thing he remembered was being trapped in an overturned truck out in the middle of the desert, but now found himself in the complete opposite situation; a dense, rain swept forest. Pushing himself to his feet, he gave himself a quick once-over to see if he had any visible injuries, ignoring the lingering question in the back of his mind of how he and Booth ended up here.

Wait a minute, where was Booth?

He looked around and saw no sign of his friend or their vehicle, his panic rising with each passing second.

"Booth," he called out through the trees. "Booth, where are you?!"

The only response he received was a flash of lightning followed by a crack of thunder directly overhead, forcing him to cover his ears. When the rumbling died down, he scowled up at the raging storm clouds, recalling the similar weather conditions that landed him in his current predicament.

"Yeah, well screw you too," he shouted, shaking his fist in the air.

Exhaling loudly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, only to discover the screen shattered and the casing broke apart, likely a result of the car crash. Cursing under his breath, he tossed the useless device away before zipping up his jacket and stuffing his hands in the pockets. Booth always got on his case for bringing it everywhere, even when the weather was warm, but he didn't care for a few reasons. 1) The red went very well with most of his t-shirts, 2) it was comfortable, and 3) he simply looked good in it.

And also because jackets were just plain cool.

It did a good job protecting him from the rain, which was cold but not bitterly so. But regardless, he would still need to find civilization, or shelter at the very least, as soon as possible, so he picked a direction that felt like it led uphill and started walking. He fixed his gaze on the ground to avoid potentially tripping over a root or stepping into a mud puddle, but after walking for a few minutes another lightning bolt went off overhead. On reflex he fell to his knees and threw his hands over his ears again, gritting his teeth to dull the throbbing in his head. When the pain subsided, he glared at the sky once again, but then did a double take when he saw something up ahead.

What at first glance seemed like a giant boulder was actually a large rock face with a small opening at its base, a cave entrance. Adam smiled at the thought of finally getting out of the rain, but his relief was quickly overshadowed by one important question.

 _What if it's already occupied?_

He stopped a few feet away from the entrance and tried to think of a better way to approach this situation. A moment later and an idea struck him, so he began searching the ground for a sizable stone to use for it. Soon he found one about the size of a baseball, and after taking a couple more steps toward the mouth of the cave he chucked it in as hard as he could. He then stood still and waited for any sort of response, and when none came, he closed the distance at last and peeked inside.

"Hello?"

He didn't hear anything answer back, not even the echo of his own voice. Taking his chances, he took a tentative step inside, the low roof forcing him to kneel slightly as he made his way passed the entrance. He only made it a few feet within before he decided to sit against the cavern wall and start rubbing his chest vigorously to gain a little extra heat. A few minutes later he slumped against the cold and wet rock against his back and sighed, frustrated over the fact that he would probably be stuck here until the rain stopped. But that only made him more concerned for Booth and his whereabouts.

 _If I ended up way out here, who knows where he could've ended up._

But Adam knew that searching for him in the middle of a thunderstorm would have been too dangerous right now. Right now, his best bet was to wait until the storm cleared up enough, then make his way to the nearest civilization and see if he could find his friend. So he sat back and expected to just sit there for a couple hours watching the raindrops fall and drench the trees, but then his senses picked up something. Turning towards the interior of the cavern, he saw a faint blue light idle sitting at the back of the cave.

 _Well, either I can stay here and freeze or move towards the light where it could be warmer._

It was an easy decision.

Moving slowly just in case there actually was a wild animal in there with him, he tiptoed across the damp stone floor, his fingertips trailing along the wall to help him better see as he traveled further and further into the depths of his shelter. With every step, the light got brighter and brighter, and the air around him got warmer and warmer. Eventually, he got so close that he had to squint his eyes until they adjusted enough for him to see the source of the light up close.

Resting within a small groove on the back wall was a glowing crystal, the light emanating from it filling the entire chamber. It was close enough now that he could reach out and take it, but when he started to he stopped short for a moment.

 _Why is this even here?_

Putting that thought aside, he reached out again, and it felt as though the very air between his fingertips was vibrating with energy. Finally, his fingers gingerly wrapped around it and pulled it free from its spot within the wall. Bringing it close to his face, he inspected it closely, finding it warm in his hands and very beautiful to look at; blue was his favorite color after all.

 _Amazing_.

But then suddenly, without warning, the crystal's warmth changed into an uncomfortable heat and then a searing pain that burned his hands, but before he could even think to drop it, a powerful surge of energy coursed through his body. It happened so fast that he didn't even have time to cry out before his whole body went numb and he collapsed onto the ground. He blinked twice and groaned in both agony and confusion.

And then…darkness.


End file.
